Control mechanism for embossing machines



Sept. 17, 1929. A. L. SCHULTZ 7 1,728,369

CONTROL MECHANISM- FOR EMBOSSING MACHINES Filed Sept 10, 1927 4Sheets-Sheet l attor wuqd Sept. 17, 1929.

A. L. SCHULTZ 1,728,369

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR EMBOSSING MACHiNES File P 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Sept. 17, 1929. SCHULTZ 1,728,369

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR EMBOSSING MACHINES Filed Sept. 1Q, 1927 {1Sheets-Sheet 5 gwventoz Sept. 17, 1929. A. SCHULTZ CONTROL MECHANISM FOREMBOSSING MACHINES Filed Sept. 10, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept.17, 1929 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE AUGUST L. SCHULTZ, or CLEVELAND,OHIO, Assrenon TO HEAMERICAN MULTI- GRAPH COMPANY, or CLEVELAND, OHIO, ACORPORATIONOF OHIO CONTROL MECHANISM FOR EMBOSSING MACHINES Applicationfiled September 10, 1927.

. Patent No. 1,557,754, granted October 20, 1925, to my assignee, TheAmerican Multigraph Company, as assignee of Clifton Chisholm, shows anembossing machine having a reciprocatory die head carrying male andfemale embossing dies, the desired characters of which are selected bypositioning the die head, and are then moved together to impress aninterposed ribbon of material. F ollowing the impression the ribbon isfed the width of one die, or the same distance for a space. That patentshows also a pair of shearing dies carried by the die head, whichoperate to cut oil the strip following the em bossing of a line, whichcut-oil portion is then inwardly bent at its edges and delivered for runtingatorm. I

It has been found .that unless the cut-off strip has a length at leastequal to the Width of several characters there is liable to be troublein shearing it and in subsequently bending its edges and delivering it.Accordingly, the operators of the machines are instructed, that afterthe shearing dies have been once operated, they must not be againoperated until there has been a feed of the ribbon of at leastfourembossed characters or spaces. I

The object of my invention is to provide a very simple mechanism toinsure the operator carrying out such instructions; in other words, toprevent a second actuation of the shearing dies until there have been apre-determined number of actuations of a character die or space feed. I

My invention is herein illustrated in connection with an embossingmachine shown in an application No. 218,803 filed September 10th, 1927,by Clifton Chisholm, and showing a somewhat simpler form of embossingmachine than that shown in the patent mentioned. However, myinvention isequally applicable to either form of embossing inachine, as well as tomachines of very different form.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan, partly broken away, of an embossingmachine, equipped with my control mechanism; Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the same partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectiondies, which are centrally positioned, toward Serial -N0. 218,828.

of such machine on the oifset line33 on Fig. 2;the remaining figures aredetails of the control mechanisms, per se,-Fig. 4 being a plan; Fig. 5 avertical section on the off-set plane 55 on Fig. 1; Fig. 6 a verticalsection on the same plane, but in different position; Fig. 7 a sideelevation looking from' the opposite direction ;"Fig. 8 a vertical crosssection on the line 8-8 on Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 a

perspective of the frame of this mechanism.

I will first describe the embossing machine shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, sofar as the same may be necessary to a complete understanding of thecontrol mechanism.

The frame of the embossing machine shown consists primarily of ahorizontal bed plate 10 mountedon suitable legs 11 and having variousstandards, brackets, and ears hereina'fter described. Two of suchtramestandards 12 and 13 comprise plates rising from P opposite sidesofthe bed plate and connected by cross bars 14,15, 16 and 17. The bars 11 and support stationary housings 18 and 19 for the embossing plungers120 hereinafter described. The bars 16' and 17 provide a guideway fortheribbon A to be embossed.

The reciprocable die head, designated 20, comprises a block bifurcatedabove and below; that is to say, that in the upper surface is a groove21 enabling the block to embrace the opposite sides'of the lower portionof the bars 16 and17, and in the underside of this die head is thegroove 22 whereby the block may straddle a supporting bar .30, aninterposed roller 31 being shown.

The die head carries a row of die blocks 25 having on the forward 'end(right hand end, Fig. 2) male dies, and a row of blocks 26 having ontheir rear ends corresponding female dies. The teeth of comb springs 27and 28 carried by the die head tend to keep these blocks apart, but atthe proper time of operation the plungers 120 force that pair of machineto allow the die blocks to be plunged toward each other.

The drawings show a manual lever for shifting the die head horizontallyalong its supporting bar 30 to select the dies. This lever is a compounddevice comprising first, alever arm on a vertical stationary pivot pin51 rising from the frame; second, a rearward extension of this lever armin the form of a plate 52 ri idly secured to the upper end of the hub ofthe arm, and loosely extending around the corresponding embossing lever115 (hereinafter described) and its rear end slidably connected with thedie head; third, a forwardly extending arm 55 pivoted to the arm 50 onhorizontal pivots 56; and, fourth, a spring 60, anchored to the arms 50and 55 and lifting the latter a 'ainst an adjustable abutment screw 62,carried by the arm 50.

The compound lever just described is swung manually horizontally as aunit about the vertical pivot pin 51. The rear end of the extension 52is bifurcated and slidably em- "races a fiat sided block rotativelymounted on a pin 66 depending from the die head. The forward end of thearm 55 carries a hand knob 68. Accordingly when this hand knob isgrasped by the operator and the lever swung in one direction fromanother, the die head is moved along the bar 30 to bring the desiredpair of dies between the plungers 120. In the patent mentioned a similarresult is accomplished by a keyboard, a pair of solenoids and linkagemechanism for moving the die head.

When the die head has been brought into the desired position by thelateral movement described, the next operation in the embodiment hereshown is a downward movement of the knob, which locks the lever and diehead in position and initiates the embossing operation. To effect thelocking, there is provided across the machine beneath the lever arm.55 astationary comb 72 having upwardly facing notches with beveledentrances, and on the under side of the lever 55 a beveled-edged blade73 to coact with these notches.

I will now describe the embossing mechanism per so, which is initiatedby the downward movement of the knob 68, or in the patent, automaticallyby reason of the die head coming to position. 7

Extending transversely of the machine, beneath an adjusting screw 59 onthe arm 55 of the compound lever is a universal bar secured to theforward ends of a pair of arms 31 and 82 pivoted in axial alignment to abracket 83. The arms 81 and 82 are connected also by a rock shaft- Sd bymeans of arms 85 and 86 connected by links 87 to the arms firstmentioned. The arm 81 extends also rearwardly of its pivot and operatesto release a single rotation clutch to cause an operation of theembossing mechanism.

ihe single rotation clutch may be of any approved form. It isillustrated in Fig. 1 as embodied in a main belt pulley 90. The clutchhas a shoulder 91 normally engaging a slidable abutment 92 whichnormally holds the clutch open. When this abutment is drawn forwardly byits rod 93 to clear the shoulder 91, the clutch goes into action andmakes a single rotation. Atthe conclusion of the rotation if theabutment has returned to position, the shoulder 91 strikes this abutmentand terminates the rotation. This is a usual method of operation ofsingle rotation clutches and it is not deemed necessary to explain it indetail, as any single rotation clutch may be employed, for instance, theclutch shown in the prior patent mentioned.

The rod 93 extends forwardly and near its forward end is guided in abracket 97 rising from the bed plate. Secured to the rod 93 is a collar98 forming an anchorage for the forward end of a tension spring 99, therear end or" this spring being connected to the stationary bracket 96.The spring thus tends to return the abutment 92 into position in thepath of the clutch shoulder 91.

Pivotally connected to the trip lever 81, is a dog 100. This dog has ashoulder 101 normally beneath the horizontal arm of a bell crank 102pivoted to a stationary bracketof the machine. The lower end of thisbell crank is bifurcated and engages a pin 103 projecting from the rod93. A spring 105 anchored to the lever 81 and bearing on the dog keepsthe dog shoulder normally in the position shown in Fig. 2. The continuedupward movement-of the rear end of the arm 81 causes an inclined edge ofthe dog 100 to engage astationary pin 109, and this releases the clutchrod 93 so that it returns to position.

When the clutch has been released, as above described, its operation isto give a single rotation to the cam shaft 110. On this shaft are a pairof grooved cams 112 and 113 which coact with the lower ends of a pair oflevers 114 and 115. Each lever carries near its upper end an adjustableabutment pin 116 and 117 which is designed to co-act with thecorresponding plunger 120, heretofore referred to in the housings 18 and19. The plungers are normally held back from the die head by springs 122within the housings. lVhen the die head has been positioned the selecteddies are directly between'the inner ends of the two plungers, and,accordingly the operation of the cams 112 and 113 rocking inwardly theupper ends of the embossing levers, cause these plungers to shove thedies 25 and 26 toward each other, thus embossing the interposed strip A.

During the second half of the rotation of the cams 112 and 113, theembossing levers are rocked in the opposite direction to their embossingmovements 123 and the springs 122 withdraw the plungers, and the combsprings 27 and 28 withdraw the dies. Thereupon the operation stops,ready for a succeeding actuation,

The ribbon of material A is fed from a supply thereof, on a reel 1e15,along a path transversely of the machine, where it is first flanged atits edges, then embossed, cut off, the flanges bent inwardly, and thecompleted strip finally delivered. The ribbon passes first between apair of rolls 146 and 147 which not only feed but flange the edges of itso that it becomes channel-shaped, whereby it is guided by the rib 29 onthe cross bar 16. The ribbon is delivered by a pair of rolls 148 and 149which bend in the edges of the channel-shaped strip so that it issuitable for mounting over the projections of a holder.

The mechanisms'for eflecting the ribbon feed is substantially the sameas that shown in the patent mentioned and need not here be more fullydescribed further than to say that the roller 147 is connected by aratchet mechanism 150 with the arm 131 on the rock shaft 130 on whichthe embossing lever 115 is mounted, so that on the back stroke of theembossing lever, the ribbon is fed forwardly a distance corresponding toone character. The discharging rollers 148 and 149 are continuouslyrotated by being suitably geared. with the main pulley, and operate tobend in the flanged edges and discharge the cut-off strip whenever it isshoved into the bite of these rollers.

The shearing of the embossed portion of the strip from the followingportion is effected by a pair ofshearing dies 152 in the die head,controlled by the operation of the knob 68 in a particular position.That is to say, when the lateral movement of this knob has brought thedies 152 between the plungers 120, then the downward movement of theknob causes the operation already described of the embossing mechanismto effeet the shearing similarly to the operation of an ordinarycharacter die.

' The mechanlsm so far described is not my invention, but it has beennecessary to set 1t 1 out somewhat fully in order that my invention maybe understood, as the mechanism of my invention connects directly withboth the manual lever and the embossing mechanism of the machine. Mymechanism will now be described in detail.

As shown in Fig. 2, a link connects the lower end of the embossing arm115 to the lower end of an intermediately pivoted lever 162. The upperend of this lever is connected by a link 163 to the lower end of a bellcrank ing from the forward arm of the bell crank 165 is a link 17 0. Theupper end of this link is connected to a pin 171-which is rigidlymounted in anarm 172, the other endof i which is pivoted to a stationaryblock 173 P which forms the frame of the control mechanismbeingdescribed. Pivoted on the pin 171' is a pawl 175 which is presseddownwardly bya spring 176. The nose of this pawl coacts with ratchetteeth on a sliding bar 181, four teeth being shown. The gain made by thepawl 175 retained by a detent pawl 183.

It results from the mechanism described that every time theembossinglever 115 is 1 The lever 186 extends across a lever 190 pivoted to theblock'173, and rests on it; The other end of the lever 190 lies beneaththe pivot pin-171 and the pin 191 carried by the detent pawl 183, andprojecting beneath the feed pawl 175. The lever 186 mentioned lies closeto the right hand end of the housing 173 and thus stands over the block181, or clears it, according to the position of this block. I

The operation of the mechanism :just described is as follows: After themet-a1 ribbon,

has been fed four spaces by the four successive operations of theembossing arm 115 (either in embossing characters or simply feeding) thelocking bar 181 has thereby been withdrawn from beneath thelever'186, asshown in F ig. 6. Any time thereafter the manual lever 55 may operatethe shearing dies to shear off the strip, but in such operation themanual lever to position the shear dies must bring the pin 185 over thelever 186, and thus this lever must be depressed when the shearing takeseffect. This depression lowers the'right hand end of the lever 190,which raises the detent' pawl 183 and.

with it the feeding pawl 17 5, and thus frees the bar. Aspring washer195 bearing on this lever retains it in its swung position, while thespring 196 forces the block 181 toward the right bringing it against theside of the depressed lever 186.

The depression ofthe lever 55, through i the universal bar 80 and themechanism heretofore described, releases the clutch and causes theembossing arms to operate the shearing dies. The first part of theactive stroke of the embossing lever 115 pushes on the link 160 and bythe linkage 162, 163, 165 and 170 pulls down the pin 171 and thusrestores the lever. 190. This raises the lever '186 free from the block181, and the latter is then forced by the spring 196 beneath the lever186, the outward movement of the bar being stopped by a pin 198.

It will be seen accordingly that immediately on the return of the lever186 following the actuation of the shearing dies the block 181 comesinto the position shown in Fig. 5, and prevents any effective downwardmovement of the lever 186, so that subsequent ac tion of the shearingdies is not possible until the block 181 is withdrawn.

The downward movement of the pivot pin 171 by the shearing stroke, asabove clescribed, also restores the feeding and detent pawls 175 and183, after the lever 186 has released the block 181, so that the nextactuation of embossing a character or of feeding a space when it pullsdown on the pivot pin 1T1, operates the feeding and thereby draws theblock 181 into the housing a distance of one tooth. In the embodimentshown four of such actuations, feeding the block four teeth toward theleft, are required to entirely withdraw this block, and again enable theshear dies to be operated. The result is that the strip cut oif musthave a length at least equal to the sum of the widths of fourcharacters. and is thus long enough to be easily handled by the bendingand delivery mechanisms.

\Vhile the control mechanism is shown as coupled with the manualinitiating lever, the same mechanism may be employed with the key boardmachine, shown in the patent re ferred to. In that case, the connectionwith the embossing lever which will be the same as shown herein, whilein place of operating the lever 186 by the manual arm it would beoperated simply by the shear key which initiates the shearing dies. Itwill also be understood that the connection to the embossing mecnanismneed not be directly to one of the embossing levers, so long as theconnection is to a part which is operated once for each feed of theribbon. Thus, the same control mechanism, or one employing the sameprinciples, may be readily associated with a machine of quite differenttype from that illustrated.

I claim:

1. The combination of mechanism for performing two kinds of operationson a blank. mechanism actuated by the performance of one kind ofoperation for interposing an abutment preventing a recurrence thereof,said abutment having ratchet teeth, a pawl coacting therewith, and anoperating connection between the pawl and the mechanism first mentioned,whereby a plurality of operations of the latter withdraw the abutment.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of meansforfeeding material to be acted upon one step for each cycle of usualoperation. means for performing an occasional operation on saidmaterial, mechanism actuated by one instance of said occasionaloperation to prevent a recurrence thereof, and means whereby a pluralityof successive instances of said usual operation withdraws saidpreventing means.

3. The combination with embossing mechanism, and shearing mechanism, ofmechanism for actuating the mechanisms mentioned, and means whereby theactuation of the shearing mechanism prevents a subsequent actuationthereof until after a predetermined number of operations of theembossing mechanism.

4. The combination of embossing mechanism, mechanism for feeding aribbon of material embossed consequent upon the operation of theembossing mechanism, mechanism for shearing said ribbon, mechanism foractuating the mechanisms mentioned, and means whereby the actuation ofthe shearing mechanism prevents a subsequent actuation thereof untilafter a predetermined number of operations of the embossing mechanism.

5. The combination, in an embossing machine, of character embossingdies, shearing dies, manually controlled means for selecting the diesrequired, mechanism for moving the selected dies toward each other, toemboss or snear, mechanism for feeding step by step th material actedon, mechanism for preventing a succession of operations of the shearingdies without a plurality of intermediate operations of the feedingmechanisms.

6. The combination, in an embossing machine, of a movable die head,character embossing dies, and shearing dies carried by said die head,means for controlling the position of the die head to select the dierequired, embossing mechanism for moving the selected dies toward eachother, and mechanism for preventing a succession of operations of theshearing dies without intermediate operations of the'embossing mechanismwith the die head in some other position than that of shearing.

7. In an embossing machine, the conbination with embossing mechanism andshearing mechanism, of a device under the jioint control of the shearingmechanism and the embossing mechanism. said control device 1 upon oneactuation of the shearing mechanism interposing an'abutment againstsubsequent actuations thereof, and means whereby operations of theen'ibossing mechanism gradually withd aws said abutment.

8. in an embossing machine, the combination with embossing dies,shearing dies, mechanism for actuating the same, a member necessarilymoved when the shearing dies are actuated, an abutment in the path ofsaid member, a moving pawl and a retaining pawl acting on said abutment.aid a connection between the moving pawl ann means operating once foreach character embossed.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of aslidable block provided with ratchet teeth, a feeding pawl and aretaining pawl acting on said ratchet teeth,

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ribbon feeding mechanism connected with the feeding pawl, whereby theblock is gradually withdrawn one tooth at a time for each correspondingfeed of the ribbon, and shearing mechanism for said ribbon, said blockconstituting an abutment against operation of the shearing mechanismuntil removed by the complete withdrawal of said block. p

10. In an embossing machine, the combination of a die head carryingcharacter dies and a shearing die, a plunger for operating either sortof dies, manual actuating means for positioning the die head to select acharacter die or the shearing die as desired, embossing mechanismforoperating the plunger to cause the character dies or shearing dies toact on material, means for feeding the material consequent upon theoperation of said embossing mechanism, an abutment against initiatingthe operation of the shearing die, said abutment being normally in idleposition but thrown into active positon consequent upon one actuation ofthe shearing mechanism, and mechanism connected with the embossingmechanism and feeding mechanism for gradually withdrawing said abutment,whereby several successive actuations of the embossing or feedingmechanisms are neces sary before a subsequent actuation of the shearingmechanism may be performed.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination of a frame,a sliding block mounted therein and having ratchet teeth, a feeding pawland a detent pawl coacting with the ratchet teeth, a restoring leveradapted to withdraw both pawls, mechanism adapted to operate therestoring lever and release the block, said block then traveling intothe path of the said mechanism and preventing a second stroke thereof,another mechanism operated by the machine, and a connection between thesame and said feed pawl, whereby the latter is moved once for each cycleof the machine, several cycles being required to withdraw the blocksufficiently to permit the operation of the first mentioned mechanism.

12. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of an embossing mechanism,

ribbon feeding mechanism, shearing mechanism, manually controlledmechanisms for operating any of said mechanisms as desired, a movableblock having ratchet teeth, a feeding pawl and a detent pawl coactingwith the ratchet teeth, a restoring lever adapted to withdraw bothpawls, the means for initiating the shearing mechanism being adapted tooperate the restroing lever and release the block, a spring for thenforcing said block into the path of the said initiating means andpreventing a second stroke thereof, a connection between one of thefirst two mech anisms mentioned and said feeding pawl, whereby thelatter is moved once for each cycle of the machine to gradually withdrawthe block and thus eventually permit a subsignature.

AUGUST L. SCHULTZ.

